Major League Soccer has postponed the MLS Cup quarterfinal decider between the host New York Red Bulls and D.C. United until Thursday at 7:30 p.m. ET because of heavy snowfall in the New York area.

Wednesday night's match originally was to be played in Washington, but the sites for the two games were flip-flopped because of the impact of Hurricane Sandy. Saturday's opener at RFK Stadium ended in a 1-1 draw, leaving both clubs with everything to play for at Red Bull Arena. But nasty weather struck New York again on Wednesday and MLS executive vice president Nelson Rodriguez told NBC Sports Network that the league wasn't prepared for a "snowfall of this magnitude."

The game was delayed for about 40 minutes while workers and league and team staff—including MLS commissioner Don Garber—tried to shovel the snow away.

"Ultimately, (there was) the sensation that we were never going to get ahead of this storm," Rodriguez said shortly after 9 p.m. ET. "We'd be shoveling at halftime and faced with the same thing even if we could get (the game) started."

D.C. United bussed more than 700 fans up I-95 to Harrison, N.J., for the game, and coach Ben Olsen said his team was eager to get going.

"We're ready to play. They're pros. This is their job," he said. "There's no advantage today. It's going to be ugly. It's not going to be a fun game to watch from the fans point (of view). ... This is soccer. You can play it in rain and snow and sleet, as long as it's safe."

Red Bulls coach Hans Backe, meanwhile, was opposed to playing Wednesday. He told NBC, "It's an easy decision. It should be postponed. It's a conference semifinal. You can't see the lines. You risk players' health. ... This is not football. This is another kind of sport."

The postponement left United puzzled.

"I'm baffled. Have you seen the field? It looks fine to me," Olsen said after the postponement was announced.

"I don't understand it," player Chris Pontius told The Washington Post. "We're all ready to play the game. The field is playable."

United president and CEO Kevin Payne agreed with his coach and player. "We were pretty emphatic we wanted to play," Payne told The Post. "A lot of reason was fans. We probably had more people in the building than they did."

Ultimately Backe's view prevailed, and the teams will try again Thursday.

Red Bulls midfielder Dax McCarty added on Twitter: "Thank you to all the #RBNY fans that braved the weather. Your loyalty is truly amazing. The players wanted to play, I will leave it at that."

Rodriguez said the league was expecting warmer and clearer weather and that the field at Red Bull Arena would be "in tip-top shape." NBC Sports Network will broadcast the match.

MLS and the Red Bulls will pay for D.C. buses to return tomorrow. United fans at the venue Wednesday were scheduled to head home after the game. The team will stay at a hotel.

The winner will advance to the Eastern Conference finals against the Houston Dynamo, which upset top-seeded Sporting Kansas City in its quarterfinal series. That two-game Eastern Conference final series was scheduled to start Saturday afternoon but Wednesday's postponement will push it back by a day. It now will kick off on Sunday at 4 p.m. ET.